Learning about viral dynamics in COVID-19 infections

Learning about viral dynamics in COVID-19 infections

4 June 2020

Two recent studies focused on the viral load dynamics in patients infected with SARS-Cov-2 and the relation with clinical evolution of the disease and infectivity of the patients. The main findings are that virus shedding seems to last longer in patients with severe forms of the disease, with corticosteroid treatments, aged above 60yo and male gender. It appears that a correlation exists between quantitative RT-PCR and infectivity. Further investigations are needed on the link between the first symptoms appearance and infectivity.

Links : https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1443; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-020-03913-9